Miss America Slots
Get Mixed Reviews
- ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - /CNN.com/ - A Miss America slot
machine -- replete with bells, jackpots and Bert Parks
singing "There She Is, Miss America" -- is about
to hit the market, and former winners are furious, saying
the association with gambling will soil the pageant's
image. The reigning Miss America, Katie Harman, says the
use of Miss America's likeness on a slot machine is demeaning,
and former winners Leanza Cornett and Marian Bergeron
agree. Miss America 1943 Jean Bartel said former Executive
Director Lenora Slaughter "would turn over in her
grave if she heard about this decision."
Others
like the idea of marrying Atlantic City's original claim
to fame with its current one. "Miss America"
slots, developed by AC Coin & Slot and officially
licensed by the Miss America Organization, will make their
official casino debut September 20 at Harrah's Atlantic
City. Acting Miss America Organization CEO George Bauer
said the pageant would get "millions of dollars"
in revenue from the machines over the next four years.
Nevada Board OKs Cash
for Life
- LAS VEGAS - A new Bally Gaming slot machine that would
reward jackpot winners with $1,000 or more every week
for the rest of their lives received a Nevada Gaming Control
Board recommendation Thursday. Cash for Life would guarantee
winners a minimum of $1,040,000, paid in weekly installments.
The game would link slot machines from a number of Nevada
casinos, similar to Megabucks, Quartermania and other
wide-area progressive games. "We really have a lot
of high expectations for this game," said Pam Howatt,
Bally Gaming's vice president of game operations. "The
whole theory is we're offering a life-changing event."
The game would be applied to current Bally slot themes,
including Blazing Sevens, Rich and Famous and Concentration.
A similar Canadian instant lottery game also called Cash
for Life sparked Ballys interest to offer a weekly
lifetime payout game. To pitch the longer payout to state
regulators, Bally agreed that the game would guarantee
a minimum of $1,000 per week for 20 years, or a total
of $1,040,000. For winners that don't live the full 20
years, their beneficiaries would receive the payments
until the 20 years of payments have been made.